After failed mail relay attempts with Microsoft and Google, I turned to Copilot for help. I asked, “Any other options?” My trusty buddy listed several potential relay services.
One name caught my eye: AWS SES. Their pricing seemed perfect for a low-volume mail server like mine—$0.10 per 1,000 emails (outside the AWS Free Tier), plus $0.12 per GB for attachments and outgoing data. The cost applies when sending from a non-EC2 environment, like my setup.
So, I created an AWS account and activated SES.
With Copilot’s help, configuring Postfix for SES relay was surprisingly smooth. But then came the catch: sandbox mode. SES required both sender and recipient addresses to be verified before any mail could be sent. I’d already finished the configurations, so I figured—might as well give it a try.
After verifying both addresses, the moment of truth came… and success! I received the test email on my Hotmail from my website. Feeling hopeful, I submitted a request to move out of sandbox mode.
Unfortunately, after a few days of review—my request was denied. And just like that, I was back where I started. To be continued…
